


His Song

by Lunamaru



Series: Catradora Song Fics [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adam's Song, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Orphanage, Anxiety, Child Abuse, Depression, F/F, F/M, Gen, Minor Character Death, Sexism, Songfic, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, [I feel DADDY AF having written this in another all-nighter lmao], blink182
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26977855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunamaru/pseuds/Lunamaru
Summary: Tragedy always hits at the worst of times. Becoming an adult was supposed to be an amazing time for them; the blond twins, who finally got a family and friends, now had the freedom to make their own choices. But no one could have known the darkness under the mask of fake grins and loudest laughs.
Relationships: Adora & Mara (She-Ra), Adora & Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), He-Man | Adam & Adora (She-Ra)
Series: Catradora Song Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968799
Kudos: 21
Collections: Lunamaru's Catradora Songfics 👩🎤





	His Song

At age 22, life was finally beginning to look amazing for Adora and Adam. After the death of their parents in a drive-by shooting when they were only two, the orphanage they were shoved into was never what could be called 'good' in any sense of the word. Forced to do labor for their meals, the children learned life lessons way too early, and the blond twins found that everyone wanted to separate them. The workers did not care though, but Adam and Adora made sure they stayed together. When they were five, two new kids joined them: Bow and Catra. Bow was sickly and Catra was terrified. Tentative friendships were made and the four swore to protect each other. But being an orphan was never simple. At 10, Bow was getting stronger, but fell ill that winter, forced into the infirmary for weeks. When the trio went to visit him, he was just... gone. Adam cried for days; Bow had been his best friend. No one was willing to tell them what happened.

After that, adoptions began coming in for one or the other twin, and it was getting harder to keep from being separated. Catra was good at scaring potential parents away until a stoic woman knelt in front of her and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes.

“You're beautiful,” was all the tall woman said before she stood and left. The woman, later introduced as Hope, kept returning for weeks, just talking to Catra and interacting with her. After almost a month of this, Catra came to Adam and Adora with tears in her eyes and her hands shaking.

“I-I don't want you to hate me...!” she started before the twins enveloped her in a hug, Adora already crying because they knew. Catra was going to go with Hope and be part of a family. Before she left, she made Hope promise them that she would see the twins as much as possible. But then, Ms. Weaver walked into the orphanage and gave Adora and Adam false hope. At 12, the two had given up on ever getting adopted together and decided they would get emancipated as soon as they could. But then someone wanted both of them.

“Really? Both of us?!” Adora had squealed while Adam made a face and looked at the case worker with suspicious eyes.

“Yes, now you will meet Ms. Weaver. She has a big house with a yard and a bedroom for each of you!” The twins had both smiled, wondering what having space to themselves would feel like. When the woman walked through the door, she was pleasant, attentive and kind, patting their heads and taking their hands when they finished. Ms. Weaver adopted them the next day and they arrived at the house with excitement. Their bedrooms had a pink and blue theme for each gender that made Adora gag and Adam roll his eyes. But they had full sized beds, a dresser, a desk, and each other. That first week was blissful.

But then Adora dropped a cup, shattering it and cutting herself on the shards. Adam immediately went to help her, but Ms. Weaver stopped him, face a mask of neutrality as she regarded the embarrassed girl.

“What do you think you were doing?” her tone was cold. Adora shuddered and cowered, biting her lip.

“I-I'm so sorry. Ms. Weaver,” she stuttered, holding her bleeding hand to her chest as Adam paced behind the adult.

“You should be, that cost a pretty penny. To make sure you learn your lesson, no dinner. You are to stay in your room for the rest of the night.” Adam's face went completely slack at the punishment, Adora whimpering as she cowered back and then sprinted up the stairs to her room.

“Ms. Weaver-! T-that's not fair!” Adam cried out as the woman easily swept the cup up and threw it away, then turning to look at the boy.

“Fair? Was it fair that Adora broke my property? Was it fair that she did that and has no way of replacing it?!” Weaver glared at Adam as he stepped back in surprise. Ms. Weaver was not the person they thought she was. But the next day would prove that sometimes there was light in the darkest places.

The doorbell rang twice the next morning before the door opened without preamble. A woman with bright blue eyes, tan skin and brown hair hurried in with grocery bags hanging from her arms. Adam and Adora watched from the staircase, eyes wide as they watched her put the bag on the dining table and then huff.

“Mom?! Are you up?!” she yelled as she started to unpack the bags, freezing when the twins came closer and into her peripherals.

“W-what the-” she stuttered before Weaver was sweeping down the staircase and into the kitchen with authority. No one spoke as Weaver regarded her daughter?!- before the older woman sighed and turned for introductions.

“Mara, this is Adora and Adam. I adopted them a week ago,” Mara nodded blankly before squatting down to their height and smiling softly to them.

“Hello, I'm Mara. We are kinda like siblings,” She grinned then, making Adora chuckle and Adam pout. This was the start of Mara becoming a big part of their life. While their 'big sister' had her own apartment and job in the city over, she came to visit them weekly If she could, but at least twice a month if she couldn't. She cooked, cleaned, and made Weaver less grumpy.

But even though she came around a lot, when she was gone, Weaver's wrath fell upon them as if her patience and frustration broke easily without Mara and she took it all out on them. Adora was clumsy in her puberty and was punished more severely than Adam, who Weaver told needed to 'take care of' his sister so she wouldn't 'get so many punishments'. It wasn't for many years later that Adam and Adora learned of child abuse and sexism.

The dam broke when Adora and Adam came home late from school, Weaver already impatiently waiting at the front door.

“Adam, go to your room,” the boy frowned at Adora, lingering before Weaver snapped at him and he scrambled up the stairs. But he hid at the top and watched with bated breath.

“Adora... What have I told you about holding your brother back?!” The girl cringed, tears already gathering in her eyes.

“T-to not do it. B-but, Ms. Weaver, I-” Adora shrieked in surprise and pain as she was slapped, collapsing on the floor as Weaver nonchalantly examined her hand, as if Adora had done her damage instead.

“You do not talk back to me! No dinner!” Adora looked up at her with huge eyes, Adam frozen as he watched in horror. He knew his sister would collapse if she didn't eat dinner-she was growing and eating twice as much, but also because she was pushing herself hard at school and her basketball practice.

“P-please, Ms. Weaver-!” Adora begged lowly, tears decorating her cheeks before she cried out in pain again. Ms. Weaver had kicked her, her face a storm of anger as Adam scrambled down the stairs.

“Stop! Leave her alone!” Adam growled as he protectively curled over her, glaring up at Weaver with hate in his eyes.

“Move, Adam. This does not pertain to you-”

“No-! I won't!” Fury swept over Weaver's face again before she snatched Adam's arm and jerked him off of Adora. He went stumbling, falling to the floor with flinch of pain as his head collided with the wall behind him, effectively disorientating him.

“You, you are going into the basement!” Adora's face paled dramatically as Weaver forced her to her feet, dragging her kicking and pleading to the basement door. With a shove that sent Adora crashing down the steps, Weaver locked the door and turned around.

“Mom....” Mara said in anguish as she closed the front door, her phone in her other hand.

“ _911, what's your emergency?_ ” the voice on the other end called out, freezing the woman as she stared uncomprehendingly at her daughter.

“There's been- dome-domestic ch-child abuse, possible... injuries,” Mara stammered as tears gathered in her eyes as she watched her mom flinch and straighten.

“Mara-there's been a misunderstanding-” But the other woman firmed her stance and glared, giving the address and her mother's name as the abuser. They all were still for a moment before Adam rushed over and took the key dangling from Weaver's hand, unlocking the basement door and going to Adora. The girl was bleeding and bruised but okay. They hugged and cried at the bottom of the steps together as the police and ambulance came. Mara let them in and once Weaver was in police custody, she raced down to the twins and gathered them in her arms.

“I-I'm so-so so sorry!” She hiccuped through her cries, clutching the two into her body before a cop and paramedic approached them. One look at Adora and they cuffed and put Weaver in the back of a cop car. They took the three to the hospital were they documented all of the injuries on the two and treated them. The three stayed in the hospital overnight, watching TV, eating ice cream and talking about what all of this meant for them and their futures.

“I-I came over as a surprise... I was transferred back home for my job and had just received word that my bid on the house I wanted was accepted...” Mara said almost shyly to the two, her smile awkward as the twins shared a look.

“S-so if you want, you both could live with me? The house is a 3 bedroom house close to your schools, it has a koi pond in the front, a big back yard that we could set up a volleyball net or soccer goals-!” Adam and Adora both squished Mara into a tight hug, laughing and crying in delight.

“Yes!” So they did. It took a month to get Weaver's case pushed through, but once that was done, Mara's adoption of the two went simply as their 'big sister'. They packed up and sold most of the stuff in the old home, went shopping for new, hand-picked things for the twins and decided as a family what type of furniture they wanted. They decorated their rooms in what they wanted- Adora in horse figurines, posters of her athletic role models, and painted rainbows, and Adam in posters of various musicians, his small collection of beanie babies and some of his art that Mara forced him to keep that he actually liked. So, at the age of 14, the twins finally were able to call what they had found 'home' and with Mara, they had a family.

When high school began later that year, they were reunited with Catra, who reintroduced them to Bow. Bashful for all the love and attention he got from the twins, he explained how his dads, George and Lance, had been there to adopt when they had heard him coughing. They investigated and talked with him, comforting him and deciding they would adopt him the next day. But Bow passed out before he could tell his friends and George and Lance took him to the hospital. He was in and out of doctors until finally they found something that actually worked, and Bow was better-stronger-more alive than he had ever been. But he had no idea where to find them and had only met up with Catra in middle school. The two tried to figure out where the twins went but Weaver did not let them get close, it seemed. But it didn't matter to Adora and Adam; the squad was back together again.

Things began to move quickly after that. Adora got into music, singing with the choir and actually really enjoying herself. She even got an electric guitar for her birthday from Mara and Adam, and practiced until her fingers were too sore to play. Catra already had a drum set that Hope said she regretted ever getting her, but she still smiled when she watched her daughter gush over it. The two spent a lot of time in Hope's garage, jamming and rocking out for hours. Those hours began to add up and Adora and Catra were closer than ever. Closer enough to be teased relentlessly about it by Adam and Bow.

Adam went into art with his heart on his sleeve and was rewarded with praise and envy. His art made it into the school art exhibitions, was even picked out for prizes and had an article in the newspaper mentioning it. He took pride in his work but he couldn't help but wonder what was missing. That realization did not come until Bow met Glimmer. The two got on famously after only a week of talking (but rather long hours of texting seemed appropriate) and people teased that they were an old couple already. Adam did not like the pang in his chest as Bow started to spend less time with him and more time with Glimmer. But instead of confronting it, he painted it in anguishing details that he could not even perceive himself. It worked, even felt cathartic, so he never mentioned his feelings to Bow.

By senior year, the twins were well-known and popular in their own right. Adora was in all the sports she could do, sang in some solos in choir, and had asked Catra out finally. The two were happily a couple and had planned what they were going to do after high school. Adora had a full ride to the university in the area and Catra had enough scholarships to cover her tuition and fees as well. They had already picked out apartments to check out in the summer.

Bow and Glimmer were going to a college about an hour away, where Glimmer's dad, Micah, worked as a professor. Micah already had a place ready for them.

That left Adam scrambling to figure out what he wanted. He was flourishing in his art, the beloved head of the cheerleading squad and the student council treasurer. He had gotten lots of offers for full rides for colleges, but nothing made him want to jump for it. So, he decided to take a year off, work for awhile as he tried to figure out his life. He was fine, and Mara liked his company.

And though becoming an adult was supposed to be an amazing time for the twins, nothing is ever as it seems...

5 years later

“Around the world, around the world-” Adora's ringtone blasts as she shifts her position cuddling with Catra on their couch to answer her brother. With a fond smile to her girlfriend who has paused the movie, Adora obnoxiously answers, her 'Hellllooooo?!' pitchy and nasally that gets a laugh from Adam like she intended. But she isn't ready for what he says next.

“Adora, I'm so proud of you, sis. You worked so hard to get where you are. I was just reminiscing and-remember the time that I spilled the cup of apple juice in the hall?” There's a pause as they both chuckle, fond memories of their home and their collected horror when their roughhousing spilled the juice all over. Mara still doesn't know to this day. Adora's smile fades into confusion when Adam whispers: “Please tell Mara this is not her fault,” before the line goes dead. Catra is staring at her in confusion and all Adora can feel is the wrongness in her heart and throat. Then the urgency hits her like a train. She's scrambling, forgoing shoes as all of her body screams 'move!'. The keys are in her hand, Catra not even saying anything as she follows her out of their apartment. As if reading her mind, Catra thankfully drives them to Adam's apartment, Adora bolting up the stairs and pounding on apartment 182.

“ADAM! ADAM!” she knows her voice is shrill, waking the neighbors, and causing a commotion but she could not care. Her twin needs her. With all the built up tension and anxiety in her, Adora rears back and slams her shoulder into the door, crashing it open as she uses the momentum to keep going to Adam's bedroom. But the bathroom light is on instead and she veers into there as Catra talks soothingly to some neighbors outside.

What she sees there will be etched into her soul forever because in the bath tub, Adam's limp, pale form lays. An empty pill bottle lays on the floor, a note addressed to Adora next to it. Trying to shove aside her emotions, she drops to her knees and shakes his shoulders, even though she can tell logically that it won't work. But it doesn't stop her from continuing. She can't see anymore either, tears blurring her vision and sobs quaking through her chest.

“Adam, Adam, you stupid idiot!” She cries loudly, curling into his chest as she both tries to check for a heartbeat and get closer to him. Catra's behind her, calling 911 and speaking quickly to the operator. The next hour is the worst in Adora's life.

5 days later

The thrum of the guitar keeps her grounded as she plucks out the tune that has been stuck in her head since she read Adam's note to her. “You remember when we'd get back from school? We couldn't wait to get outside, the world was wide and so alive... I've never felt so happy than I did in those moments. They were the best days.” She glances up as Catra walks into the room in her one-piece lace black jumpsuit, her smile small but loving.

“They're waiting for you, princess,” she whispers as Adora stands, her blond hair down now and her matching, floor-length black lace dress fluttering as she takes a deep breath. Catra gently takes her hand, twining their fingers together before they step out of the room and into the world again. The mic is beckoning her and she allows it, Catra right behind her. Bow turns around from messing with his bass' cords, eyes already red-rimmed as he gives the two a gentle smile and a nod. She stands at the front of the group and smiles sadly, clearing her throat before looking at her sister in the crowd.

“Tragedy always hits us at the worst of times. It doesn't wait for a better time because there will never be a good time for it. In light of... of recent events, I wrote this song... This is Adam's Song,” Adora is tense but she closes her eyes and gently starts playing her guitar.

_“I never thought I'd die alone  
I laughed the loudest who'd have known?  
I trace the cord back to the wall  
No wonder it was never plugged in at all  
I took my time, I hurried up  
The choice was mine I didn't think enough  
I'm too depressed to go on  
You'll be sorry when I'm gone,”_

Bow is thrumming his bass with a melancholy energy that fits perfectly while Catra is on the drum set, keeping the beat as Adora lets the music transition to the chorus, her eyes getting misty as she begins singing again.

_“I never conquered, rarely came  
Sixteen just held such better days  
Days when I still felt alive  
We couldn't wait to get outside  
The world was wide, too late to try  
The tour was over, we'd survived  
I couldn't wait till I got home  
To pass the time in my room alone,” _

All the pain and loneliness Adam must've felt as he tried to move forward and be happy slid easily into Adora's voice as she imagines him curling himself around his pillow and crying himself to sleep. She can remember climbing into bed with him when they were younger, their tears mixing as they held each other close. If she had just reached out-but no, what was done was done. Catra had made sure she knew it wasn't her fault every time she needed it... There were already sniffles going through the crowd and the blond desperately shifts her eyes to Catra, who smiles encouragingly.

_“I never thought I'd die alone  
Another six months I'll be unknown  
Give all my things to all my friends  
You'll never step foot in my room again  
You'll close it off, board it up  
Remember the time that I spilled the cup  
Of apple juice in the hall  
Please tell mom this is not her fault.” _

The tears are falling now, and though she tries not to crack, her voice trembles as she gets to the last line. Mara is crying quietly, the people around her hugging her and rubbing her back. Adora takes in a shaky breath before continuing with more breath behind her voice. As she starts, Catra's and Bow's voices join her in a soft addition of choir-like brilliance, the song switching to a lighter tone.

_“I never conquered, when you came  
_ _ **Tomorrow**_ _holds such better days  
Days when I can still feel alive  
When I can't wait to get outside  
The world is wide, the time goes by  
The tour is over, __I've survived_ __  
I can't wait till I get home  
To pass the time in my room alone.” 

As the last words slip from her lips, Adora finally locks eyes with Adam, who is openly crying even with a smile on his face. Their big sis has her arms around his shoulders now, kneeling behind his wheelchair and pressing her wet face to the top of his blond head.

“You are not alone. You are important to me.” Adora says clearly into the mic as Catra steps up behind her and rests a supportive hand on her shoulder. “I will always be here for you and willing to listen at any time. You deserve to live, 'tomorrow holds such better days'.” She grins through the tears as Adam nods and gives a just as teary smile back.

**Author's Note:**

> In a time of uncertainty, depression and anxiety, it is even more important that we come together and help each other out. Feeling sad, depressed, and even suicidal is okay. It's *okay* to *not be okay*. What's not okay is taking a life, especially your own because YOU, yes YOU, are important. You are loved and cherished, and you are not weak for feeling these things. Please, reach out and ask for help, be it the Suicide Hotline [800-273-8255], online at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ , simply talking to a friend or a family member, or seeing a doctor. Help is always available, because you deserve to live, to be happy.   
> Thank you all,  
> Lunamaru


End file.
